Nolwen Berthier, who did two 8c+ last year, has done her tenth 8c, Idée fixe La Saume after some ten sessions. (c) Théo Cartier

"I didn’t climb so much in La Saume in the past, but this summer I wanted to fix it. ‘Idée Fixe’ is one of the classic lines of this sector and I wanted to try it for a while ! I spend around ten days on the route, enjoying the fresh air of the mountain. After falling at the top with pretty bad condition during the last session, I came back a few days later and had to fight hard in the upper crux to clip the chain! Even if I really enjoyed this process and spending time in this magical place, the hundred climbers at the cliff made me reflect on our impact on nature, especially on ground vegetation we saw disappearing during our trip, and how we could avoid that..."

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Siebe Vanhee and Sébastien Berthe have made the FA of Histoire sans Fin, an 8b+ MP near Martigny in Switzerland calling it, "the best granite multipitch of the grade in Europe", Vanhee reports. (c) Fred Moix

"In 2001 Didier Berthod and Francois Mathey opened the famous second pitch off the ledge, a 45 meter long 7c+ splitter crack, naturally protected. One of the best! The splitter ends in the middle of the beautiful pillar, in the middle of nowhere – the “Never Ending Story”. The smooth granite above had to wait almost 20 years before Fabien Borter and Bertrand Martenet imagined an incredible bolted continuation of the route, following blank slabs and arêtes to the summit. Despite their great visioning, the climb had to wait until 2020 when they got help of Didier Berthod to find the missing link pitch, a beautiful orange arête graded 8b.

The end of June, together with Jean-Eli Lugon we found a small window to go and try ‘Histoire’. I got my ass kicked completely and was in a terrible physical state. Nevertheless, I realised it was one of the best lines I had ever tried. Last week I returned with Sebastien, physically in a way better shape but still intimidated by the line. I mainly went up to have another look and see how it would go. But with the sending vibe Seb brought with us on the wall I was quickly contaminated. We both worked the crux pitch until Seb strongly sent. I felt I needed little tries more to send as well but Seb’s time was running out for a ‘one day first day’ ascent. We continued and he pulled out a strong physical and mental fight, we topped out at night! This day Seb made the first free ascent. As always, he was strong and kept giving every pitch sending tries until he surprisingly did!

Three days later it was my turn, I returned with the support of Seb and Soline. this time convinced I could climb the route. I fired up the 7c+ splitter, continued the 7c traverse pitch to the base of the crux pitch. Suddenly I found myself in the crux of the 8b+ pitch, a super technical boulder problem where the right pressure on microscopic footholds makes the seemingly impossible moves possible. It’s all in the head, you need to dare and push on the feet. It went smooth, I managed to send on my first go. The 8b pitch, the slabby but strenuous arete, was a mental fight. Scary but magical, that’s what comes to mind when I think of that pitch. It felt so impossible on the first try, it’s scary to push so much on the feet but once you find the right pressure and balance, the magic happens. Again, I sent this pitch on the first go! The last challenge is a spicy 8a+ slab. I climbed well but nervous, a brain fart happened and I fell at the very last difficult section. Thanks to Seb and Soline, I relativized my lame fall, returned to the anchor and just cruised it to the summit!

It’s been an honour, really! An honour to be able to climb on a wall that beautiful, a route that magical, with the support and enthusiasm of Jean-Eli, Seb and Soline. But not only that, we both are impressed by the openness and kindness of the locals. We had the pleasure to meet Didier Berthod and Francois Mathey together with many others in the cosy ‘Cabane de Orny’ hosted by Yanik and his crew. It’s great to see how the climbing community lives in that mountain hut. Thanks to you all for the great vibes."

Jonathan Flor reports on Insta that he has done the first repeat of Dani Andrada's Delincuente in Rodellar. It is a sit start to Ali Hulk extension and the longest route in the Ali Baba cave. Flor says that due to knee bars he thinks that it is a 9a instead of the original 9b proposal. (c) Alfonso Martinez

Flor also reports that he did the project La Masa 9a. In total, he has now done more than 50 routes 8c+/9a in the world, which put him as #7 on that list.

With all the choices on offer in Tirol, it can be hard to pick where to start rock climbing. Our expert jury has revealed their favourite sport climbing routes across Tirol: The “Great Lines” meet the criteria of natural beauty and setting, technical difficulty, rock quality, as well as physical and mental challenges. Have a look at the following routes:

● Number One Direkt, Going, Wilder Kaiser
● Puls 2000 in Leutasch, near Seefeld
● Le Miracle, Niederthai, Ötztal Valley
● Weißer Riese, Längenfeld, Ötztal Valley
● Another Play in Paradise, Lavant, East Tirol

Each one of these routes guarantees a climbing adventure full of fun and inspiration. They represent a huge diversity in rock climbing and offer incomparable views of the Tirolean landscape. Visit our homepage for detailed information.

Tabitha Eckfeld, who the last five weeks has done three 8A's, has done her first 8A+, Ragman 2.0 in Silvretta. Full video on Insta. The spotter holds the crash pad so the sun does not get into Tabitha's eyes.

"I am very happy that I can climb hard boulders again. I've been suffering from really bad chest tension for a year. So I had to do long backroll sessions several times a week. Now it's getting better and I think this full-body regeneration made me stronger. Stronger than without my illnesses and normal training."

What was that Ninja thing I found by Googling you?
I really like Ninja. I was the best woman in 2018. But I crashed my knee badly in the competition. So I could not climb for 2 months. So I stoped ninja slowly. Climbing was more important to me. That's a bit sad. I really love Ninja warrior. But I don't want to get injured again..😅 But climbing and Ninja are a good training combination.

Here is a fictive results list based on adding the three disciplines together instead of multiplying them.

1. Tomoa Narasaki 2 + 3 + 6 = 11
2. Alberto Gines Lopez 1 + 7 + 4 = 12
3. Nathaniel Coleman 6 + 1 + 5 = 12
4. Mickael Mawem 3 + 2 + 7 = 12
5. Adam Ondra 4 + 6 + 2 = 12
6. Colin Duffy 5 + 4 + 3 = 12
7. Jakob Schubert 7 + 5 + 1 = 13

Splitting all five with 12 points are based on who has the best individual ranking in any discipline.

Based on almost 2 500 unique votes, we can see that, on average, the grading score was 7b, i.e. almost Great, on the scale; Excellent, Very Good, Great, OK, Boring. The most commented thing to dislike was the multiplication format.

Iziar Martinez, who last year did five 8c's, has done her first in 2021, El hijo libre in Rodellar. "This summer has been crazy. I have been competing in a lot of competitions. I just needed a little rest from all that, so I went to Rodellar and I didn't know what to try, and I saw this incredible line that I wanted to try last year and I thought it would be nice to give it a try."

In total, the 16-year-old has done 13 IFSC comps in 2021 including getting a bronze in a Euro Youth Boulder Cup. Next up is the Youth World Championship in Russia.

Jonathan Flor, who previously has done 47 routes 8c+/9a and harder, reports on Insta that he has done two Dani Andrada 9a's in Rodellar, De Battre Mon Coeur S'Est Arrêté and Cosi se Arete. The Spaniard also did Cosi fan tutte 8c (+) on his second go after a good flash attempt. All three routes he did in just a couple of days. (c) Inga Patarcic